The Werewolf's Pregnant Bride Read Free Page A

into the peerage you have wasted it. Still, the child will have a proper name and the best care we can give," Marquess Wolstenholme said. Sophronia shivered with the sudden cold she felt but she did not speak nor look up. There was nothing to see. Her fate was being decided without her.
    "My girl was not trying to hook some duke. She has an inheritance. She could have gotten a good marriage without any kind of tricks. It was your son that seduced and violated her," her father said. She was somewhat surprised to hear him defend her but it did not matter now anyways. Her fate was being sealed and she was to be left with strangers.
    "We can disagree on the circumstances that have led up to this unfortunate situation," Marquess Wolstenholme said. "My younger son will marry your daughter but she must agree that no one is to know that Eldon is the father. If anyone questions her she is to say that it was Nathaniel who she had an ill advised encounter with. The baby inside her belongs to my younger son. It will not be the same life as if he was the legitimate child of my elder son but it will be better than belonging to a single woman who let a man sire a child on her without the benefit of marriage."
    "You will not add to your shame by telling people that your husband did not father your child, will you?" her father asked.
    "No," Sophronia said. It did not matter who fathered her child or who she married. Her life was ruined. Her plans were ruined. There was no chance of an education. Nor of fighting to abolish slavery in the south. Now, she would not live any kind of useful and adventurous life. Instead, she would simply languish as a wife to an untitled nobleman and the mother of an illegitimate child.
    "We will arrange for a special license and the marriage will take place as soon as possible. I hope you can accept that it will be a simple affair. Just family in the private chapel," Marquess Wolstenholme said.
    Sophronia nodded even though she was sure the question had actually been towards her father. She would never have a fancy wedding nor a fantasy honeymoon and it would be only a shame on her if she tried. Her pregnancy was impossible to hide and a private wedding would bring less shame then a publicly pregnant bride.
    "Owen, go and fetch Mercy. I believe we should allow her the chance to help her soon to be sister settle in."
    "If someone would show me the way I could settle myself in," Sophronia said.
    "I am afraid that is not how things are done here."
    "I will send over her things as soon as I can," her father said. She wished they had thought to bring a trunk of her belongings. It had taken them most of the day to get to Wolstenholme and her father would not return to their lodgings until morning. Once there he would order the maid to pack her things and it was impossible to say when her filled trunks would arrive.
    "Until then, I am sure that nightclothes and a spare gown can be found."
    "Thank you," her father said. She supposed he should be grateful. The Marquess had solved his problem and taken his errant daughter off his hands. She should be grateful as well but she felt trapped.

Chapter 3
     
    Nathaniel shut the door to his chamber just as two large dogs rushed forward to greet him. He fell to his knees to wrap his arms around the neck of each and give them a greeting hug. Snow and Winter were his constant companions. They were pups from his very first litter and both were now too old to birth any further litters. The younger dogs preferred wandering the estate but Snow and Winter, in their old age, liked the warmth of the house. Besides, back when they were born he had not been selectively breeding for thick coats. Now, his dogs all had coats warm enough for the coldest winter nights but that could be brushed to a thin layer in the warmer summer months. The coats had the added benefit of being just the right texture to spin into yarn. It was not near as efficient as wool of a sheep but it was warm and soft